PDA

View Full Version : help with CTR head lamp housings



Kis4KEN
12-10-2003, 10:39 PM
i dunno about everyone else but when i look into the headlight housing i can see my bulb. when i had usdm housings.... there was a lil ...reflector piece that kinda covered the bulb... is it suppose to be like that? or where can i get that piece. i haven't even called the honda dealership yet

1 fstr si
12-11-2003, 05:30 AM
to the best of my knowledge, the STR housing doesnt have the deflector. so, i wouldnt worry too much about it and i doubt the honda dealer would know anything about it.

eggsi
12-11-2003, 07:16 PM
I bought the ctr headlights about 6 months ago, and i was shocked when i first installed them too. But it seems to be how it is supposed to be, i think it somehow makes them brighter. At least to me it does. ;)

BarracksSi
12-11-2003, 07:53 PM
Originally posted by Kis4KEN
i dunno about everyone else but when i look into the headlight housing i can see my bulb. when i had usdm housings.... there was a lil ...reflector piece that kinda covered the bulb... is it suppose to be like that? or where can i get that piece. i haven't even called the honda dealership yet

It's part of the optics that prevents glare from blinding other drivers.

HgSi
12-12-2003, 08:38 PM
I'm not sure about this, but I think that the USDM lights use the same reflector as the LHD European ones. If you know what to look for, you'll see that the optics seem to be shaped to generate a flare-up on the right side. But the beam pattern itself doesn't have a flare-up.

So my theory is that the little shield is there to modify the beam pattern from the European to the USDM standard. Mainly to cut down the flare-up on the right side, which I think might be illegal in the US for some reason.

I was thinking of taking the little shield out one day and seeing what difference it would make in the beam pattern, and if it really does end up with an LHD European pattern, I'd probably just keep it that way, because the flare-up is useful. (well, sorta...) But it seems like there's no way to take it out without taking the housing apart, and I'm too lazy to cook my headlights in the oven.

BarracksSi
12-12-2003, 08:55 PM
My lights do have a flare-up on the right. It's not as bright as the main part of the beam, but it's definitely a wedge of light that's not present on the left. I can see it best when I'm facing a blank wall (that is, when my CAR is facing a blank wall, not just me standing there...).

Its main use is visibility for signs and whatnot. There is no flare-up from the lefthand light, because it would glare oncoming drivers.

I wouldn't be surprised if the main reflector is the same between LHD and RHD EPs, but that the light shield around the bulb is different. That's just speculation from me, though.

Kis4KEN
12-12-2003, 10:25 PM
um... what i was talking about was that my ctr housings don't have that little deflector piece. and i think the stock housings have the deflector piece molded onto the housing itself... but i can't really check. i got into an accident... both headlight fucked up, that's why i have ctr housings now. just wondering if anyone else bought the ctr housings and it didn't come with the deflector

HgSi
12-13-2003, 06:03 PM
No, it's not molded in. I took out the bulb and it looks like it's screwed in just below the bulb hole. On the outside. But the screw is really hard to get to, and besides, the shield looks like it's too big to fit through the bulb hole to take out. So I think the only way to take it out is to disassemble the housing, which I'm not going to do. But I don't know, I might be willing to give the bulb hole another shot when I'm not lazy, to see what happens.

Kis4KEN
12-13-2003, 07:11 PM
Originally posted by HgSi
No, it's not molded in. I took out the bulb and it looks like it's screwed in just below the bulb hole. On the outside. But the screw is really hard to get to, and besides, the shield looks like it's too big to fit through the bulb hole to take out. So I think the only way to take it out is to disassemble the housing, which I'm not going to do. But I don't know, I might be willing to give the bulb hole another shot when I'm not lazy, to see what happens.

hey thanx alot... i dunno if i wanna go to the local honda dealer and order a new pair if i can't get them to fit into the hole